School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses
Date of Award
Spring 4-5-2024
Document Type
Graduate Paper
Degree Name
Master of Theological Studies (MTS)
Department
School of Theology and Seminary
First Advisor
Charles A. Bobertz, PhD
Subject Categories
Religion
Abstract
Originally written as a research essay for Dr. Charles Bobertz's Patristics course in the Spring term of 2023, this paper examines the role that prophecy played in the early Church, especially in the Montanist movement of the late second and early third centuries. However, the paper takes prophecy and its authoritative role in the early Church as a springboard to reflect on the study of the early Church from an academic perspective, probing the ways in which twentieth-century scholarship utilized the sociological theory of Max Weber to make sense of the gradual "institutionalization" of the Church from its more charismatic origins. Thus, the essay is an opportunity to reflect on how modern secular reason has influenced the way both contemporary theologians and secular academics approach historical development within the Church.
Copyright Statement
This paper may be made available for electronic access in current and future electronic storage databases at Saint John's University Alcuin Library, Collegeville, Minnesota.
Recommended Citation
Kimbrough, Coleman S., "“The Spirit and Power": Max Weber and the Study of Prophecy and Authority in the First Three Centuries of the Church" (2024). School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses. 1939.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/sot_papers/1939
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